Ubuntu 10.04 Installation: The Streamlined Version
In another recent post, I described the process of installing Ubuntu 10.04. This post offers a streamlined version of that post. That is, it describes another such installation, performed on the basis of that post.
The first step was to install Ubuntu from the live CD. As before, in this step I installed everything into one root partition. When installation was complete, I copied my saved fstab from a separate partition to replace the existing /etc/fstab, and then typed "sudo gedit /etc/fstab." There, I replaced the UUID for the root partition with the new one shown in another Terminal session via "sudo blkid." I saved and closed fstab. This part still did not go smoothly -- I still had not mastered the translation of the Ubuntu Community Documentation webpage into terms that fit my situation -- but essentially I typed "cd /" and then "sudo mv /home /old_home" to park the newly installed but largely empty /home folder; then "sudo mkdir /media/home." On reboot, my desktop was restored to its previous condition. I deleted the /old_home folder.
Next, I went to the folder where I had saved my backup copy of sources.list and typed "sudo cp sources.list /etc/apt/." I opened sources.list, copied the commented command lines, and ran them. They generated what appeared to be error messages. In Software Sources, I triggered a reload. It closed without errors. In Synaptic, I installed these programs: acroread, acroread-fonts, adobe-flashplugin, boinc, dvgrab, fdutils, gparted, mplayer, nautilus-open-terminal, ntfs-config, p7zip-full, sysinfo, ubuntu-tweak, unetbootin, and webhttrack, as well as these font packages: ttf-mscorefonts-installer, sun-java6-fonts, ttf-sil-gentium, ttf-sil-gentium-basic, ttf-dustin, and ttf-georgewilliams. As before, I typed "sudo sh" to install my .bin and .bundle downloads (e.g., GoogleEarthLinux.bin) and double-clicked to install my .deb downloads. Then I went into Update Manager, and ran and reran it until I was all caught up.
Monitor driver installation and BOINC configuration were as described in the "Settings and Adjustments" section of the previous post. The GRUB2 menu edits, as described more carefully in that post, were as follows: to get rid of the Memtest+ options, I typed "sudo chmod -x /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+." To let Ubuntu remember which operating system it had used last, I typed "sudo gedit /etc/default/grub," changed the first line to be "GRUB_DEFAULT=saved," and added a second line that said "GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true. To limit the number of Ubuntu kernels shown, I typed "sudo gedit /etc/grub.d/10_linux," added "GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_RECOVERY=true" at the top, and changed two lines at the bottom to be three that read as follows:
list=`echo $list | tr ' ' '\n' | grep -vx $linux | tr '\n' ' '`I saved and closed that and typed "sudo update-grub." I typed "sudo vmware" and made some root adjustments there. I rebooted and everything looked good. There were a few rough spots, but I could see that this might not take very long at all, once you got the hang of it.
list=`version_find_latest $list`
done
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7 comments:
I should have added the installed-software procedure: Make the backup list of programs installed in an existing Ubuntu setup with "dpkg --get-selections > installed-software.log," and then restore it in a new Ubuntu setup with "dpkg --set-selections < installed-software.log."
... followed by dselect. See http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=261366
For a more complete installation, I should have started Firefox, to let its add-ons get caught up with their updates. Likewise any other programs that were likely to be updated. Also, Startup Applications were not retained from the previous installation; I had to do that manually.
I have added ntp in Synaptic. Also, regarding the comment on dselect, the only option I used was Install.
Found an older but clearer explanation of the process of moving the /home folder: http://www.ivankuznetsov.com/2008/04/moving-home-to-its-own-partition.html
In one case where the /home folder process did not work right, I found the problem was actually not with the way I had adjusted Ubuntu, but with the home folder. Restoring a replacement of it from an Acronis True Image backup fixed that problem.
To make the Launchpad software source work properly, I had to go to Applications > Accessories > Passwords and Encryption Keys > File > New > PGP Key > Continue. After quite a delay, it generated a key. Then I typed "gpg --list-keys." I copied the eight-digit number that came after "pub #####/" (i.e., after the word "pub" and after the five-digit number and the slash). (It was actually a combination of eight letters and numbers.) I pasted that at the end of this command: "gpg --send-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com [eight-digit number]." Then I typed "gpg --fingerprint" and copied the "Key fingerprint" number (a total of 40 letters and numbers) and pasted it into the box in the appropriate webpage on the Launchpad site, which I found by logging in at https://help.launchpad.net/Packaging/PPA?action=show&redirect=PPA#Adding%20a%20PPA%20to%20your%20Ubuntu%20repositories. This prompted them to send me an email with an OpenPGP key. I copied the key, beginning with the first dash on the line that said "BEGIN PGP MESSAGE" and continuing through the last dash on the line that said "END PGP MESSAGE." I saved that key in a text file called X.TXT. Then, in the folder where I saved it, I typed "gpg -d X.TXT." This opened up the secret instructions. The instructions included a link to a webpage. I went there and clicked on the button to confirm. I was done. Easy! (not)
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